Álvaro Saborío

Álvaro Saborío
Personal information
Full name Álvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón
Date of birth March 25, 1982 (1982-03-25) (age 29)
Place of birth Ciudad Quesada, Costa Rica
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Playing position Forward
Club information
Current club Real Salt Lake
Number 15
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2001–2006 Saprissa 151 (95)
2006–2010 FC Sion 87 (36)
2009–2010 → Bristol City (loan) 21 (2)
2010 → Real Salt Lake (loan) 29 (12)
2011– Real Salt Lake 23 (11)
National team‡
2004 Costa Rica U23 4 (1)
2002– Costa Rica 54 (23)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of October 22, 2011.

† Appearances (Goals).

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of June 5, 2011

Álvaro Alberto Saborío Chacón (born March 25, 1982 in Ciudad Quesada) is a Costa Rican footballer, who currently plays for Real Salt Lake in Major League Soccer and the Costa Rica national football team.

Contents

Club career

Deportivo Saprissa

Saborio began his professional career with Saprissa in his native Costa Rica.[1] Saborío was the leading goal-scorer of the 2003–2004 Costa Rican season, finishing the year with 25 goals, five above Whayne Wilson.

With Saprissa, he has won a league title and a CONCACAF Champions Cup, and was part of the team that played the 2005 FIFA Club World Championship Toyota Cup, where Saprissa finished third behind São Paulo and Liverpool. At the tournament, he scored two goals and ended up tied with three other players for top scoring honors.

FC Sion

He moved to Swiss Super League outfit FC Sion after playing for Costa Rica at the 2006 World Cup. He formed a good partnership at FC Sion with Poland's Zbigniew Zakrzewski.

His performances in Switzerland reportedly caught the eye of Stoke City's manager Tony Pulis who aimed to sign him in the summer of 2009, however he instead joined Bristol City on loan.

Bristol City

Saborío played his first game for Bristol City in a Championship match on September 13 against Coventry City making an impact by setting up fellow striker Nicky Maynard. Saborío also picked up his first yellow card in English football as the match ended in a 1–1 draw.[2] Saborio scored his first goal for Bristol City in their 1–1 draw with Scunthorpe United.[3]

He left Bristol City and his contract was terminated with FC Sion in February 2010 so that he could return to Costa Rica.

Real Salt Lake

Saborío signed with Major League Soccer club Real Salt Lake in March 2010.[4] He made a huge impact in his first season in Salt Lake: RSL boasted the highest-scoring offense in MLS in 2010 (45 goals); Saborío led the way with a team-high 12 tallies. For his efforts, he earned the MLS Newcomer of the Year award.[5] He also starred for the club in the CONCACAF Champions League tournament, scoring eight goals as Real Salt Lake advanced to the championship round.

After a successful first season at the club, Saborío was made Salt Lake's first ever Designated Player, signing a four-year contract with the club on December 1, 2010.[6]

International career

He is also an important player for the Costa Rica national football team at numerous levels. He represented the U-23 team at the 2004 Olympics, scoring the Qualifying goal that took them there, and subsequently starting three of four games for the team, scoring a goal against Portugal. He has also been capped for the full national team 54 times bagging 23 goals, playing for the team during 2006 World Cup Qualifying.

Saborío, better known as "Pipe", has been notably recognized for his accomplishments with Deportivo Saprissa, and the high amount of goals he has scored in a short period. But after a year at the club his Costa Rican Coach got a hold of him and he took part in the 2006 FIFA World Cup. He was mostly a substitute for Costa Rica national football team, behind Rónald Gómez and former Man City forward Paulo César Wanchope. He has 54 caps for Costa Rica and has managed to score 23 goals.[7] He also scored the first goal ever in the Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, in the inaugural match against China. Saborío was at the centre of much controversy in the 2011 Gold Cup, criticized heavily for his misses, including two penalty kicks in the quarter final against Honduras, and for a training pitch incident where he allegedly kicked a ball at a child who was in the stands.[8]

International goals

Scores and results list. Costa Rica's goal tally first.
Goal Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1 7 Sep 2003 FIU Stadium, USA  China PR 1 – 0 2–0 Friendly
2 19 Nov 2003 Estadio Alejandro Morera Soto, Costa Rica  Finland 2 – 1 2–1 Friendly
3 12 June 2004 Estadio Pedro Marrero, Cuba  Cuba 1 – 2 2–2 WQC
4 4 Sep 2005 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama City  Panama 0 – 1 1–3 WCQ
5 7 Sep 2005 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  Trinidad and Tobago 1 – 0 2–0 WQC
6 9 Nov 2005 Stade d'Honneur de Dillon, Fort-de-France, Martinique  France 0 – 1 3–2 Friendly
7 11 Fe 2006 Rose Bowl, USA  South Korea 1 – 0 1–0 Friendly
8 2 Sep 2006 Stade de Genève, Switzerland  Austria 0 – 1 2–2 Friendly
9 2 Sep 2006 Stade de Genève, Switzerland  Austria 2 – 2 2–2 Friendly
10 24 March 2007 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  New Zealand 1 – 0 4–0 Friendly
11 24 March 2007 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  New Zealand 4 – 0 4–0 Friendly
12 21 June 2008 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  Grenada 1 – 0 3–0 WQC
13 20 August 2008 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  El Salvador 1 – 0 1–0 WQC
14 3 June 2009 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  United States 1 – 0 3–1 WCQ
15 6 June 2009 Dwight Yorke Stadium, Trinidad and Tobago  Trinidad and Tobago 1- 1 2–3 World Cup qualifier
16 27 June 2009 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  Venezuela 1 – 0 1–0 Friendly
17. 19 July 2009 Cowboys Stadium, USA  Guadeloupe 2 – 0 5–1 CGC
18. 19 July 2009 Cowboys Stadium, USA  Guadeloupe 4 – 1 5–1 CGC
19. 10 Oct 2009 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  Trinidad and Tobago 3 – 0 4–0 WCQ
20. 10 Oct 2009 Estadio Ricardo Saprissa, Costa Rica  Trinidad and Tobago 4 – 0 4–0 WCQ
21. 3 Sep 2010 Estadio Rommel Fernández, Panama  Panama 2 – 2 2–2 Friendly
22. 26 March 2011 Estadio Nacional de Costa Rica, Costa Rica  China PR 1 – 0 2–2 Friendly
23. 5 June 2011 Cowboys Stadium, United States  Cuba 2 – 0 5–0 CGC

Personal life

Saborío can speak four languages: Portuguese, Spanish, French and English.[9] Saborio was briefly married to 2004 Miss Costa Rica, but she left him after only 2 years of marriage.

Career league statistics

Updated on January 19, 2010

Team Season Apps Goals
Saprissa 2001/02 24 11
2002/03 36 27
2003/04 37 25
2004/05 21 15
2005/06 31 17
Total 149 95
FC Sion 2006/07 31 14
2007/08 34 17
2008/09 22 5
Total 87 36
Bristol City (Loan) 2009/10 21 2
Total 21 2
Real Salt Lake 2010 27 12
2011 23 11
Total 50 23
Career League Total 307 156

Honours

Club

Individual

See also

References

  1. ^ National-football-teams
  2. ^ Saborio makes small impact on debut ESPN Soccernet Retrieved on September 13, 2009
  3. ^ "Bristol City 1 – 1 Scunthorpe". BBC Sport. September 19, 2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/eng_div_1/8251421.stm. Retrieved October 22, 2009. 
  4. ^ http://threefourthreefc.wordpress.com/2010/03/11/alvaro-saborio-signs-with-rsl/
  5. ^ http://www.mlssoccer.com/news/article/sabor%C3%ADo-wins-newcomer-year-breakout-season
  6. ^ http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/home/50784824-76/saborio-designated-player-rsl.html.csp
  7. ^ Costa Rica – Record International Players
  8. ^ "Á Saborío se le cerró la portería como nunca". nacion.com. http://www.nacion.com/2011-06-19/Deportes/A-Saborio-se-le-cerro-la--porteria-como-nunca.aspx. Retrieved 20 June 2011. 
  9. ^ Charles, Chris (September 16, 2009). "Sport quotes of the week". BBC Sport. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/funny_old_game/8254762.stm. Retrieved September 16, 2009. 

External links

Real Salt Lake – current squad